1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tools for automotive service and, in particular, to tools for facilitating servicing of spring-loaded parts. The invention has particular application to tools for maintaining a helical spring in an axially extended condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of tools are known to facilitate the spreading or axial extension of helical tension springs. One type of tool, usable with healthy duty springs, comprises a plurality of wedges, ganged for being simultaneously driven between the convolutions of the spring to force them apart. Another type of tool, typically used for smaller springs, involves a hook-type device which is adapted to engage one end of the spring and pull or push it to an extended condition, the tool then being engageable with the opposite end of the spring to hold it in the extended condition.
Another type of tool is designed to hold a spring in an axially extended condition once it has been extended. Such a tool is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,042, and includes a part-cylindrical sleeve adapted to encompass the spring substantially coaxially therewith, the device having plate-like webs adjacent to its opposite ends, inclined slightly to the axis of the cylinder at approximately the helical angle of the spring, and insertable between spring convolutions adjacent to the ends of the spring to prevent it from contracting. But this device has a movable latch to hold it on the spring and requires access to substantially the entire circumference of the spring.